Do You Need To Specialize?

By now you should have set yourself up and hopefully you will have some work on the horizon too. But have you ever given a thought as to what area you would like to work in? Some writers are happy not to have a particular area of expertise, and they deliberately keep themselves generic because they don't want to exclude themselves from certain jobs.

You can still be a general writer and specialize in an area too. I know writers who will take on most work but will for example, take on a bulk of resume/CV work because they know it is something that is needed all the time. Even when writing work may be slow, resumes are always needed and a good place to advertise is your local university because as you know, students need a good resume to get themselves noticed.

Copy writing is a very lucrative area indeed and requires specialist skills and a particular way of working. Writing sales copy can earn you thousands for a copy plus you could also potentially earn thousands more through commissions from the sales of any products as a direct result of your letter. It's a great way of making more from your money. Copy jobs are very much in demand, but unless you have the correct style and set of skills, and solid evidence that your letters are producing real conversions, it is likely you will find it difficult to get more work.

Technical writing involves creating manuals and reports and are very specific to the area of expertise that you are working in. Again, this is another type of writing which is in demand. Some writers find this type of writing to be ideal if it matches their skill set. You may have a scientific background and this would make it easier for you to write about things you know. Other writers (myself included) find this type of writing mundane and boring and so keep away from it.

Article writing for both traditional media and the web is highly in demand and this is one area that all writers can comfortably write in. Think about what you are good at and what subjects you have a background in. As long as you have some interest you have something to write about. Traditional media like magazines pay really well, up to and more than $3000 per feature article. Web articles tend to be much shorter because people simply do not have the time to read through pages and pages of information. These tend to be around 500 words and you can reasonably and comfortably demand $30 - $50 or even more for an article.

Press releases follow a particular way of writing and can be a great introduction in to sales and famous people. I recently saw an advert for a press release and newsletter writer to regularly write about a new band in the USA. This type of regular work can bring in much money, although you would need to write a lot of press releases to make a substantial amount.

Other types of writing can include ghost writing which involves writing a book or article on behalf of someone else. Creative writing includes poetry and all types of fiction and can include writing for greeting cards. Newsletters are a great way of making a regular income, as is blog writing. A blog is fun and easy to do as well as a good earner.

There are other types of writing as well - I have just highlighted the most popular types above. Over the next few days I will be going over each and every type of writing and the resources for them.